Case Digest (G.R. No. 202666)
Facts:
In Rhonda Ave S. Vivares and Sps. Margarita and David Suzara v. St. Theresas College, G.R. No. 202666, September 29, 2014, Supreme Court Third Division, Velasco Jr., J., writing for the Court, the petitioners challenged the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 14, Cebu City Decision of July 27, 2012 (Presiding Judge Raphael B. Yrastorza, Sr., penned the RTC decision) dismissing their petition for a writ of habeas data (SP. Proc. No. 19251-CEB).The dispute arose from photographs taken in January 2012 of minors Julia Daluz and Julienne Suzara (both senior high students at St. Theresas College (STC)) while changing into swimsuits; the pictures—showing the students in their brassieres and other images—were uploaded to a Facebook account maintained by Angela Lindsay Tan. A computer teacher at STC, Mylene Rheza T. Escudero, learned of the photos after students identified the subjects and then, using STC computers, viewed images on the students’ Facebook accounts. Those students showed the pictures to Kristine Rose Tigol, STC’s Discipline-in-Charge, and the school investigated and found the pictured students in violation of the Student Handbook; sanctions included barring them from the commencement exercises on March 30, 2012.
Separately, Angela’s mother, Dr. Armenia M. Tan, filed Civil Case No. CEB-38594 in the RTC seeking to enjoin STC from enforcing Angela’s sanction; petitioner Rhonda Vivares later intervened. The RTC issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) allowing attendance at graduation, but STC nonetheless barred the students, citing its pending motion for reconsideration. Petitioners then filed a petition for the writ of habeas data (SP. Proc. No. 19251-CEB), alleging unlawful access to and copying/dissemination of their children’s Facebook photographs (allegedly set to Friends Only or password-protected), and asking the court to order respondents to surrender all soft and printed copies and to declare the data illegally obtained.
On July 5, 2012, the RTC found the petition sufficient and issued the writ, directing respondents to file a verified return. Respondents complied, asserting defenses including improper parties, forum shopping, that the writ did not lie, and that there was no reasonable expectation of privacy on Facebook. On July 27, 2012, the RTC dismissed the petition for lack of proof of an actual or threatened violation of the minors’ right to privacy and ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Procedural: Is the writ of habeas data available in this case — i.e., is it confined to cases of extralegal killings and enforced disappearances or available against a private entity such as a school?
- Substantive: Was there an actual or threatened violation of the minors’ right to privacy that warrants issuance of the writ of habeas data — specifically, did the minors have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the Facebook photographs and did STC unlaw...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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